APEC leaders endorse Bangkok Goals for sustainable growth

BANGKOK – APEC leaders on Saturday endorsed the Bangkok Goals on the Bio-Circular-Green (BCG) Economy – a comprehensive framework to further APEC's sustainability objectives – and will advance these goals in a bold, responsive and comprehensive manner, merging existing commitments with new aspirational ones.

At a news conference at the end of a two-day meeting of APEC leaders, Thailand's Prime Minister, Prayut Chan-o-cha, also chair of the 29th meeting, said the talks also covered how to boost trade and investment in a post-pandemic environment under a planned Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific.

Leaders reaffirmed their long-standing commitment to promote strong, balanced, secure, sustainable and inclusive growth as well as their commitment to realize the APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040, according to joint statement issued on Nov 19 after the 29th APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Bangkok.

Putrajaya Vision 2040 is a mission statement adopted in 2020 for APEC, as: "Our vision is an open, dynamic, resilient and peaceful Asia-Pacific community by 2040, for the prosperity of all our people and future generations."

In 2021, the 21 APEC member economies developed the Aotearoa Plan of Action, to implement Putrajaya Vision 2040.

The statement also called for an end to the Ukraine-Russia conflict. Russia, one APEC member, saw the absence of President Vladimir Putin from the meeting.

The APEC members comprise Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, China, Indonesia, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Peru, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, Thailand, the United States, and Vietnam, as well as Chinese Taipei and China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.